


Jealous

by Anytha



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Clueless Love, F/M, FitzSimmons - Freeform, Fluff and Humor, Friendship/Love, Jealousy, Skye meddling to set FitzSimmons up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-19
Updated: 2014-05-02
Packaged: 2018-01-02 00:47:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1050536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anytha/pseuds/Anytha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Simmons learns of Martha and Leo's pet name Little Bear and Fitz learns of Agent Sitwell and Jemma's interest in men of her height but heavier. EDITED.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I don't have a clue of how this one came out.. It will be a couple of chapters long, I think; probably 2-3.
> 
> Give me some feedback please: I'm pretty sure I've got some of the characters OOC...
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy it.. ;)
> 
> Thanks to my Beta StarryDreamer01 who helped me edit this.

 

* * *

Taken from the Oxford online dictionary:

 **jealous**. Pronunciation: /ˈdʒɛləs/adjective. Origin. Middle English: from Old French 'gelos', from medieval Latin 'zelosus'.

 _Definition #1_ : feeling or showing an envious resentment of someone or their achievements, possessions, or perceived advantages.

* * *

When Simmons got to the lounge room after her shower, she didn't expect to find the scene currently playing in front of her eyes.

Skye was laughing loudly, almost on the verge of toppling down from the stool she was sitting on. Agent Ward was next to her, casually leaning on the bar's glass table, a glass of Scotch (she presumed, alcoholics have never been her thing) in his hand and – here's the thing that left her utterly flabbergasted- grinning.

Fitz was seated on the armchair nearby, his back to her; judging by the blotchy red that colored his nape, he was blushing furiously.

Skye 's eyes lit up as soon as she saw her by the door.

"Simmons!" She called delightfully and beckoned her to get closer. "You really have to hear this!"

Jemma approached her teammates, wondering what was going on.

They were having a rather quiet period now: no impromptu missions whatsoever in the last weeks after Fitz and Ward's two-man mission. Nevertheless, it was unusual -though quite pleasant, she mused- to see this cheerful mood on the Bus.

Skye was grinning, Ward smiled at her from his glass and Fitz.. She stared at him.

Fitz's face was bright red and when his eyes met her questioning ones, he immediately averted his gaze.

Brow raised at her partner's behavior, Jemma looks at her other teammates.

"What do I have to really hear?" She asked Skye.

The brunette grinned wildly. The biochemist had the fleeting sensation that she must have had quite a few drinks and was tipsy.

"My S.O here-" Skye gestured with a hand vaguely in Ward's direction. "-was telling us some  _details_  about the mission in South Ossetia."

"Oh.." Jemma replied, taking a seat in the armchair in front of Fitz. She heard a soft scraping sound on the little table between them and saw her partner slide a bottle of Guinness towards her. She looked at him: he had one too, untouched.

"Thanks.." She whispered softly with a smile. He nodded, lips quirking slightly in a smile before looking away again. She arched a brow again, fighting back a frown.

Things were still a bit edgy, at times, between them. She had hoped that after his mission, they could have gone back to be what they were before but there was still a long road ahead of them...

"Details of which sort?" She asked, finger sliding on the bottle at her side. It was cool, just outside the refrigerator: just as she liked it. He knew it, of course...

"Of how Fitz gained his new name." Skye was barely restraining her laughter and Jemma looked at her blankly.

"New name?" She repeated. She heard Fitz mutter something intelligible under his breath but didn't turn to him.

"Little Bear.." Skye said this with a horrible East European accent and then started laughing again. Her blank expression must have pitied Ward because he took a sip of his drink and straightened up.

"We had a small...impasse at the beginning of our mission." He explained, "My contact was dead and we were pretty much in the coven of these Russian gang who thought we wanted to deal with the separatists."

Jemma nodded. She knew that much of the story: Fitz had regaled her with a rather colorful tale of Russian mobsters threatening them and nearly scraping it out alive from the boundary lines under multiple gun fires.

She had listened with a mixture of amusement and concern, knowing that some things were true (thus her fear that he had faced all of this. Without her.) While others weren't. She had assumed that the whole mobster part had been a bit of a folkloric addition... But she had been wrong.

"We were in a tight spot and I was sure that we would have to deal with something very unpleasant to get out-"

"Unpleasant?!" Fitz exclaimed, looking at the other man with a bewildered expression, "Now  _that's_  an understatement. You were imagining gruesome torturous ways and asking  _me_  how high my pain tolerance was!"

Ward glanced at Fitz and then turned to Simmons, completely ignoring the engineer's outburst.

"Anyway.. We were tied down when this woman comes out. Turns out she was the leader of that gang."

"Really? A woman?" Jemma said, eyes wide. This was turning out to sound like some action movie. And, she realized, Fitz never mentioned a woman in this mission...

"Yes, sided with these thugs with guns and menacing looks. I couldn't convince her that we weren't working for the separatists and we were going to get shot, when Fitz here-" He nodded at the younger man. "-worked his magic."

"Oh, yes, I know that part," Jemma remarked and turned to her partner with a smile. "He shorted out the fuse box while you were tied down."

Fitz blushed slightly and took his beer bottle in his hand, ready to take a sip.

"Oh... Did he tell you how he fixed everything?" Skye asked, making Fitz put the bottle back down and glare at her. The hacker stuck her tongue out at him in retort.

"Er-" Jemma watched the interaction with mild confusion, ignoring a sudden twinge in her stomach. "I know that he fixed the fuse box and then negotiated your trip beyond the boundary lines."

"Passing on his negotiating skills that  _definitely_  need to be refined.." Ward remarked, "He fixed the fuse box with the help of some of the Russians... and made friends with them."

"Really?" Jemma turned to Fitz. He was turning red again.

"Well, friends is a broad word-" he started but was cut off by Ward.

"Seriously.. You were on first name basis with the leader and her side kick."

"That's no-"

"You called them Martha and Vlad while we were running away, Fitz."

"Yes, but-"

"You drank a shot of vodka with the guy, Vladimir!"

"I couldn't refuse now, could I?" Fitz's retorts were getting weaker.

"Martha had a soft spot on you: she kept calling you Little Bear as you worked. And you called her sweetheart." Ward looked at him. "Seriously? Not friends?"

Skye laughed out loudly again.

Jemma had watched the two men banter with mild amusement until Ward's last statement.

 

Fitz called this Martha woman sweetheart.

 

And this Martha woman called him Little Bear.

  
Something erupted inside her stomach. Something warm, blazing and utterly new. Unknown.

  
Taken slightly by surprise by this feeling, she snatched her beer and took a sip, hoping that the cold liquid would calm this sudden fire in her body.

  
Fitz had never called her anything less than Jemma or Simmons in all these years. Never called her in any other way.

Never called her in  _any_  affectionate way.

  
And  _she_  never called him in any way that wasn't his surname. She rarely called him with his name nowadays.

Jemma wasn't even sure why this bothered her so much. No wait- she did know. She just didn't want to admit that her platonic/friendly feelings towards her partner had changed to some unknown/romantic ones.

And now, some Russian woman who leads a mobster gang gets to be called sweetheart by Fitz, minutes after meeting him? And she, in turn, gives him a pet name?

 

Like that?

 

To  _her_  partner?  _Her_  Leo Fitz?

 

For some odd reason, her mind was imagining this Martha woman looking very much like Natasha Romanoff (in her whole deadly, brilliant  _and_  sexy glory) and it wasn't helping placate the flames in her stomach.

She took a long swig of beer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please, leave a comment... :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow..guys.. The response to this story has been.. mind-blowing. I swear, I'm so flattered by all of this that you can't even imagine it.
> 
> As I said in the last chapter, I have no clue as to how this fic started writing itself but I'm following the flow and hoping that you'll appreciate it.
> 
> Please, give me some feedback.. :)
> 
> Thanks to my Beta StarryDreamer01 who helped me edit this.

 

* * *

Taken from the Oxford online dictionary:

 

**jealous.** Pronunciation: **/ˈdʒɛləs/** _adjective._ **Origin.** Middle English: from Old French 'gelos', from medieval Latin 'zelosus'.

_Definition #2_ : feeling or showing a resentful suspicion that one's partner is attracted to or involved with someone else.

* * *

 

Bloody Hell.

  
Bloody  _Buggering_  Hell.

  
When he and Simmons had left the lab -later than predicted, but that prototype they were working on needed to be finished- he had hoped to take a good, hot   
shower, get something for dinner and maybe relax a bit watching a movie.

And doing all of this together with his partner would have been perfect.

Well, not all. Not the shower part.

Not that he would have actually minded if it had happened but - _No_. He really had to shut down that stream of thoughts.  _Immediately_.

This was happening too often lately...

  
...Anyway..

  
Fitz didn't really envision his night to be like this.

He had come out of his bunk ready to make something for dinner. He wasn't that much of a cook -not as Jemma was- but he thought that making some simple sandwiches were enough.

He didn't expect to find Skye and Ward by the bar, drinking and talking. Rather amiably, he had to add.

He didn't expect them to be talking about the mission in Ossetia. He didn't imagine to be invited to sit and then find himself on the armchair with a beer that he hadn't even started since he hadn't dined and Skye laughing at the whole Martha/Vladimir/Little Bear incident.

He was hoping( _praying_ ) that Ward hadn't talked about anything else previously.

Like him talking about Jemma the whole time.

Really, what was he thinking? Talking about your so-called partner 24/7, recalling amusing stories about her, telling how she calls his inventions... Seriously, even Ward with his teaspoon-sized emotional range, could wonder about it... Beside being annoyed and all.

He was trying to find a way to leave when Jemma arrived. And joined them.

And he suddenly felt a combination of dread and elation all together. It was a constant whenever he saw her and was with her. Which meant.. _always_.

He had to do something about these feelings. But even his analytical mind couldn't come up with a quick solution to the problem: What to do when you realize that you're probably( _surely_ ) in love with your best friend/partner.

He couldn't even meet her stare when he felt all these emotions drowning him. How the bloody hell was he supposed to talk to her about them?

Tonight the dread was doubled because of Skye's source of hilarity: himself. He just wanted all of this to end. Now.

But no. He had to endure this torture of Skye laughing and Ward pointing out how he..fraternized with the Russian mobsters. He started to ignore the brunette talking, making it sound like a buzz in his ears now.

At least, Jemma wasn't laughing with them. He stole a glance at her and saw that she just looked mildly confused: her brows were slightly scrunched, eyes adorably puzzled and a half smile dancing on her lips.

'Fitz, get a grip..' He chastised himself.

His hold on the beer bottle tightened. He had to stop doing this. Observing her every move and feature to the point that he could trace it out blindfolded.

He was about to take a sip of his Guinness -dinner be damned at this point- when he saw Jemma tense. He watched her eyes widen slightly in something similar to surprise and the color drain a bit from her face. She took her bottle of beer and drank.

'What the hell just happened?' He wondered.

He knew her enough to know all of her quirks and moods. But this one was a complete novelty for him.

He was about to ask her what was going on, concern on her well-being taking over immediately ever since her near death experience when Skye's voice got to him.

"Fitz, I swear, I'll start calling you Little Bear from now on," she announced with a wide grin. She really must have drunk a bit too much. He had never seen her so gleeful. "I haven't laughed so much in..well, forever."

He frowned.

"Well, I'd rather appreciate if you didn't," he remarked, putting his beer down. Seriously, he'll never get to drink it..

"Come on! It's really cute as a pet name! And it shows how good you were in fraternizing with the enemy! Your mind was working clearly even in dire situations."

He rolled his eyes at that. Trust Skye to put S.H.I.E.L.D agents' attitudinal characteristics into  _this_. He glanced at Ward and saw him smirk above his glass' rim.

"You certainly are better than Simmons in that," Skye added.

Fitz looked at her in confusion.

"What?" He asked. From the corner of his eye, he saw Jemma hastily put her beer bottle down and wring her hands together. Her typical nervous behavior..

"Skye, I don't think that really matt-"

"Seriously, Simmons.. I adore you and everything but you turn into a blubbering mess when you're under pressure. But  _flirting_  under pressure? That's a big no-no."

Fitz's mind registered this and went blank.

 

Flirting?  _Jemma_  flirting?

 

With whom?

 

He turned to his partner, a twinge tickling his stomach, and saw that she had turned into a bright shade of red.

"What?" He asked again. Simmons looked at him with wide eyes.

"I-well... We- We were trying to get the information about your mission.." She stammered.

"Yes.." He conceded, utterly confused. He pointed at the two women. "You two were planning to hack the system through a control panel." Ward nodded wearily in front of him, probably still incredulous that they were safe because of this insane plan.

Fitz looked at Jemma again.

"And when you got caught at the panel by Agent Sitwell, you shot him with the Night-Night gun," he concluded. He was still totally incredulous that Jemma had done  _that_.

Simmons nodded slowly.

"Yeah but that was at than end of the whole let's-try-to-sweet-talk-Agent-Sitwell fiasco." Skye commented airily.

Fitz stared at her.

 

Wait- _what_?

 

"What?" He said again. His mind wasn't comprehending this situation correctly.. Something warm stirred at the pit of his stomach: warm and unknown.

"Well.. Simmons got caught by Sitwell. I told her to calm down and try to talk to him...and she just started to lose it  _completely_."

"That's not true!" Jemma remarked, cheeks still red, "I was trying to-"

Skye rolled her eyes.

"Let's not even talk about your attempt to be vague and the mistaken bathroom route excuse.."

Both Fitz and Ward stared at Simmons and she blushed again.

"But..really.." Skye straightened up on her stool and looked at Simmons. "You certainly have a gorgeous head. I like men that are about my height but heavier than me." She mimicked an English accent (failing miserably, Fitz had to say..) "Seriously, Simmons?"

Fitz stared at Skye.

Jemma really said  _that_  to Agent Sitwell? He knew that she wasn't good in making things up at the moment. So... Something of him must have struck her to make her say that.

He tried to focus in recalling Sitwell's features, wondering if there was something that Jemma could find appealing in him. Sturdy build, eyeglasses, bald head.. Nothing that he could classify as... fanciable. Then again, he really didn't know who Jemma might find attractive. It's one of the few talks they never had... And probably never  _will_  have.

Could that be her type of man?

 

_Agent Sitwell_?

 

Fitz felt the warmth in him growing, fueled by some bizarre need to squash Sitwell's  _gorgeous_  head to a bloody pulp.

He looked at Simmons. She was turning a darker shade of red and was moving her hands wildly in front of her as she spoke to Skye.

"Whatever else could I say?" She demanded, tone turning slightly shrill in her embarrassment. "I was panicking..!"

"Yeah..I sort of noticed," Skye replied dryly. "We really have to do some coach-training on that. Anyway, the guy got suspicious after you started losing it. He was into you at the beginning – or at least, interested. I mean, he actually told you to call him Jasper, remember?"

"Yes bu-"

"A guy like him -a man who's a superior officer- doesn't say something like that so easily. Especially not to lower leveled officer." Skye turned to Ward. "Right?"

The man shrugged.

On the other hand, Fitz's mind was in overdrive with all of this information.

 

Jasper?

 

First name basis after -what? Two minutes that they have met?

 

And, most of all:  _Interested?_

 

He could almost imagine the scene in his mind.

  
"You can call me Jasper." For some unknown reason, Sitwell's voice was suave in his head. And the man was showing off his Level 8 badge. Whoever the hell cared if he was a superior officer?!

He felt something stir from inside him. Something that wanted to literally crush Sitwell. Hot white fire was consuming his mind and body.

So, Sitwell might be Jemma's type (and he really didn't want to think about it..) but it didn't matter.

 

He, Leo Fitz, had been there first.

He knew her better than anyone else.

He knew her every quirk and behavior.

He loved her more than anyone else.

No one could just walk in and take away his Jemma.

Not even superior officer Sitwell.

Even if he had a gorgeous head.

Fitz reached for his beer and downed half of it.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please, leave a comment.. .:)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can I just say how wonderful you guys are? The response to this totally random story was incredible... Thank you so much.
> 
> As for the story, I'm letting inspiration lead me on..and I currently have no clue as to where it's taking me. I think that this should be finished by the next chapter (unless some other random thought strikes me and makes me write more..)
> 
> As usual, leave me some feedback. I love talking to you guys.. :)
> 
> Thanks to my Beta StarryDreamer01 who helped me edit this.

* * *

Taken from the Oxford online dictionary:

 **jealous.** Pronunciation:/ˈdʒɛləs/  _adjective._ **Origin.** Middle English: from Old French 'gelos', from medieval Latin 'zelosus'.

 _Definition #3_ : fiercely protective of one's rights or possessions

* * *

 

Skye looked at FitzSimmons and failed to hide a smirk.

 

Fitz had just downed half of his beer as the most seasoned of pub drinkers, copying what Simmons had done a little while before. She knew that they could hold their alcohol - _how_  those two managed it though, was still beyond her- so this sudden thirst was just a reaction to something else.

Namely, a  _little_  something else provoked by the  _little_  scheme that she and Ward were weaving out, hoping that the two genius scientists would just fall for it.

And as she saw the furiously embarrassed flushed face of one with the equally furiously jealous face of the other, she knew that the geniuses were done for. Seriously, it looked like there were small rainstorm clouds all over their heads. She  _almost_  felt guilty..

She sneaked a peek at Ward who casually glanced at her from the rim of his glass. He had his poker face but she could see the glint of mirth in his eyes.

Suppressing a grin, Skye raised an eyebrow suggestively and he nodded slightly.

 

Operation Get FitzSimmons-Together part 2 was about to start.  
  


-:-

  
Jemma felt as though she was seriously going to learn what self-combustion meant. She had felt the blood rush to her cheeks so many times in the past half an hour that she feared what color her face was now.

Of course, Skye had to bring up her pathetic attempt to flirt with Agent Sitwell. She wasn't really an expert in that field. Hell, she didn't have a bloody clue of how to do it!

So when she found herself there, standing in front of Sitwell with the panel open and no logical explanation as to  _what_  she was doing there, she improvised.

And when she did that -very few times, thankfully- she thought of her partner. Her partner who had always been slightly taller and sturdier than her. Her partner who had the most beautiful mind she had ever met.

Her partner who was in danger while she faced this superior agent that didn't look anything like him and that she had to distract.

So she started to modify her thoughts about Fitz and applied them to Agent Sitwell but the results had been shameful and thank god for the Night-Night gun in her bag...

It was almost though Fitz had been there with her and had handed her the solution to her problem.

She stole a glance at him and saw that he was drinking his beer. His own face was quite flushed and he had a rather..hardened look in his eyes.

Slightly surprised by this, she wondered what was happening to him. He almost looked..angry?

  
But what about?

  
They had just talked about Sitwell and her disastrous flirting attem-..  _Oh_.

She felt a slight flutter in her heart and a little twist in her stomach when she realized that, maybe, Fitz could be bothered by  _that_.

Could he be reacting as she did when she heard of Martha -who still pranced around her head as Black Widow-Natasha Romanoff-?

  
Could he-?

  
She didn't dare to hope..

 

-:-

 

He put his beer down, feeling the little flair in his empty stomach as the liquid reached it. His mind was a jumble of thoughts: he was scouring through every conversation he had had with Jemma, trying to see if she ever mentioned something about her ideal man or type.

He raked through his memories and only found some random comment during movies on how this guy had a nice voice or this other had nice eyes.. Nothing else.

He knew her enough to know that she wasn't so..shallow to judge a person by looks alone. She was the sort of person that could see past the exterior appearance and appreciate the true core of an individual.

Just like she did with him.

She had seen past the lanky, quiet and tech-addicted eighteen year old Fitz that everyone else saw and appreciated plain Leo. And had stuck with him ever since.

And now, some bloody superior agent came along and- Oh.  _Oh_.

He blinked for a moment when Jemma's words to Sitwell came to his mind again.

 _He_  was about her height, wasn't he? And..  _he_  was heavier, as in build, than her.

And.. didn't she say, once,  _ages ago_ , that he had one of the most beautiful heads (as in minds) that she had ever seen?

His heart thudded for a moment as this thought sunk in.

  
She couldn't-? No, wait... The thought alone was too overwhelming for him.

 

Feeling suddenly light-headed and knowing that it wasn't for the beer drank without eating anything, he dared to turn to his partner. Only to find her looking at him with searching eyes.

He felt something just twist and turn inside him as she looked at him that way.. She could read him so easily that it was frightening.

But, every time, he couldn't drop his stare immediately.

  
-:-  
  


Skye watched the silent interaction between the two scientists and had to refrain from squealing: her plan was going on perfectly.  
  


First stage, Jealousy: passed.

Second stage, Realization: passed.

Now off with the last stage: Confession.

She jumped off her stool, startling the two scientists in front of her. Ward didn't even bat an eye.

"So, I'm sort of hungry," she announced, putting her on the coaster on the table, "This scotch really burns everything.. How do you drink this stuff without withering away, Ward?"

The man smirked, taking another sip of his drink.

"You're a lightweight, rookie," he replied, earning an eye-roll from the brunette.

"Yeah..or maybe your robot, metal body just takes in the liquor as though it was water. Sorry, oil."

Unseen by both, Fitz and Simmons shared a glance and a smile as they witnessed their banter yet again.

The engineer stood up too.

"I was actually going to make us something for dinner before  _someone_  dragged me here to include me in this conversation." He shot a deadpanned look at Skye who had the grace to grimace as she saw how late it was.

"Oh..seriously? You still haven't had dinner?" Now she  _did_  feel guilty..

"We were working on the prototype requested by Agent Coulson." Simmons remarked. "The vegetation-growth cycle simulations took a while-"

"-and the actual blueprints of the solar device after calculating all the variables came afterwards-" Fitz added.

"-then we had to come up with the correct balance for the insemination and fertilization pods along with the device's shielding case." Simmons finished.

Skye stared at them.

"What was that whole prototype thing about?" She asked, after her brain had tried to translate what the two scientists were talking about.

"It's a solar powered device that allows the growth of vegetation or crops in desert-like locations," Simmons explained.

"S.H.I.E.L.D wants to try it in an area where an 0-8-4, full of some unknown power source, was found and literally obliterated any vegetation," Fitz stated.

"Fortunately, there weren't any inhabitants nearby but the sudden lack of life there could be suspicious, so we were asked to come up with a solution," Simmons concluded with a smile, looking at Fitz who grinned back. Both were unable to hide the pride of being asked to do a task that was quite impossible.

Skye watched how the two just completed and complemented each other's thoughts as though they were sharing the same mind. This amazed her more than their actual genius..

'They seriously have to have a psychic link...' She thought.

She watched as the two looked at each other for a moment before looking away, faint blushes coloring their faces.

'And they  _so_  like each other..' She mused with an eye-roll.

"Okaay.." she said, slanting a look at the engineer. "Since I'm the one that got you to be late, I'll help you make something to eat."

"That's just because  _you're_  hungry," Fitz remarked, arching a brow.

"Shut up, Fitz and let's go."

She pushed the man towards the kitchenette, ignoring his protests and turned to the others "Be back in couple of minutes."

She quickly dropped a look at Ward.

She would deal with Fitz but Simmons was his job.

The man nodded imperceptibly.

 

Game on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please, leave a comment... :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...I'm not sure about the length of this story anymore..
> 
> I'm following the flow and writing down anything that comes up to my mind. I suppose it will be another couple of chapters long...but I honestly cannot assure that.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you'll like this chapter and leave a review.. :)
> 
> Thanks to my Beta StarryDreamer01 who helped me edit this.

* * *

_Love is the difficult realization that something other than oneself is real._

_-Iris Murdoch-_

* * *

 

 

Jemma watched Fitz and Skye disappear in the kitchen and promptly ignored the dull twist in her stomach whenever she saw them interact. It had gotten better now compared to the beginning when Fitz would fawn over the hacker as she had to suppress a frown whenever her body reacted like this.

She blinked when she realized that she was jealous. Before... Now...

  
Jealous. She had never been jealous of anything or anyone.

  
Not until Fitz came along...

  
Oh. Dear.

  
"Something wrong?"

 

She looked up abruptly and saw Ward staring at her, glass set on the table. She had almost forgotten that he was there.

"N-No," she replied, smiling slightly. "I was just lost in my thoughts. Sorry, Ward, I was quite rude to ignore you."

The man shook his head.

"You are tired: it's comprehensible," he said. "No need to apologize."

"So are you," she commented, eying the bags under his eyes.

"I'll just wait for the two chatterboxes to be back and then I'll call it a day."

"Chatterboxes?" She laughed out. The man smiled wryly.

"Can you find any other way to describe Skye and Fitz?" He asked. "I deal with Skye every day and she talks non-stop about everything  _and_  nothing at the same time. And Fitz talked non-stop during our mission: during the trip to the boundary lines, during the hide-out and during the missions itself."

She chuckled.

"He tends to ramble when he's nervous." She remembered their days at the Academy, studying together, where he would go on for hours about the mechanical structure and functioning of anything. She once had to endure an hour's worth of ramble on the functioning of a calculator. "What did he talk about? Mechanics? Electronics?"

"You."

Jemma was very glad that she was sitting down because she was sure that if she had been standing, her legs would have just given away.

"W-What?" She asked, looking at Ward as though he was joking. But this was  _Ward_  and even though he might have softened and was a bit more easy-going, there wasn't the slightest possibility that he would be pulling a prank on her.

"I didn't keep track of everything: I must have zoned him out of my mind at some point.. But I do remember him talking about you two at the Academy. You and a..Faraday cup accident?" She blushed at this. "And then he went on for a hell of a long time about that sandwich you made and that he couldn't eat because of me.."

"He didn't eat it?!" She exclaimed, sitting straighter. She felt a sudden twitch of hurt across her chest: why would Fitz lie to her about it?

"No, I had to dispose of it since we were hiding and escaping from Russian men and searching dogs. A prosciutto sandwich would have exposed us as much a neon-light arrow sign over our heads."

She nodded slowly, realization sinking in. It never occurred to her that giving Fitz the sandwich, his favorite sandwich, could put him in a dangerous spot. She hadn't been so perceptive to realize all the variables of a two man mission in conflicted lands. Her field experiences were so little that it never occurred to her that a searching party with dogs would catch the scent of smoked ham easily.

She could have endangered them. Fitz could have been hurt..or died because of her bloody sandwich..

Ward stared at her, he saw the way her shoulders slumped down a little, the way her eyes clouded.

"Don't feel guilty about it," he remarked. "Field missions have hundreds.. _thousands_  of variables. Even a genius like you or Fitz can't predict and know what could happen out there."

She looked up at him, knowing that his words were right but nevertheless, the feeling lingered in her body.

"And..I suppose he didn't tell you anything because he knew you'd feel guilty.." Ward added. "He cares for you."

She blinked at his words, recalling Fitz's expression when she asked about the sandwich.

He had looked at her so intently, as though seeing her for the first time. She had had the feeling of being x-rayed as his blue eyes were fixed on her.

"Yes.." she said softly, a warm fuzz going through her body. Fitz knew her so well that he could even prevent her from feeling bad..

He did care for her: he always did. And he did show some jealousy towards her.

So maybe - _maybe_ \- there could be a chance that her feelings could be reciprocated.

Ignoring the tick-tacking of her heart, she looked up and saw Ward staring at her with an odd expression; if she didn't know better, she would think that he was almost smiling smugly.

"Ward.." She asked tentatively, "Are you drunk by any chance?"

The man looked at her with a blank expression, eyebrows raising at the question.

"No.." He replied, " _Why_  are you asking?"

"You're behaving..oddly." At the man's deadpanned stare, she quickly added. "No offense meant but.. You're more  _talkative_  than usual."

"None taken...I think." Simmons chuckled softly and he smiled. "I just re-valued Fitz after this mission. My opinion on you changed after you jumped off the plane and I told you so."

She smiled slightly, remembering how he told her that she had been very brave.

"My opinion on Fitz changed a bit that day too: he was on the verge of jumping after you without any training or anything.. That meant that he was equally brave or insane."

Jemma fought back a shiver at the thought of Fitz plunging through the sky after her. She still had nightmares of falling, without end, and the thought that he could have followed her..She really didn't want to think about it.

"And after this mission in Ossetia, he showed me that he was brave, loyal and a true companion, someone that I could trust truly. Someone that had my back.."

"A Partner," she said with a smile. "You're listing all the things that make him a perfect partner."

She blushed slightly when she realized the double meaning that the word  _partner_  could have. Hopefully Ward wouldn't cotton on..

 

The man barely hid his smile. He didn't know which were Skye's tactics with Fitz but he had a clear idea of what to do with Simmons. He would plant the idea, the seed that would find a perfect soil in her brain and heart, and she would do the rest.

He hated to admit it but his Rookie was right: FitzSimmons were so ridiculously in love with each other, he didn't know  _how_  they didn't know it yet.

"Well, yes I suppose so.. You'd know that, wouldn't you?" He decided to ignore the lingering blush on the biochemist's face. "Though I do wonder how you deal with him every moment.. He's a bit of a dork, gets easily flustered and cannot make negotiations for the life of him.." He smirked at the slight frown on Simmons' face and changed his tone. "But then he manages to get out of a sticky situation with mobsters making friends with them, chatting them up and drinking a shot of vodka, manages to soften their leader, who looked like a fierce middle-aged bear woman, and gets to be called Mishka.."

"Middle-aged woman?" She blurted out, eyes widening.

 

No, now wait a minute..

 

She still had Martha-Natasha Romanoff plaguing her mind and make her stomach twist uncomfortably.

 

"Yeah.. The leader looked like a typical middle-aged, plump aunt...with a really menacing face and thugs on her side." Ward reminisced the woman with a mild grimace.

  
Suddenly, Martha-Natasha Romanoff disappeared from her head in wisp of cloudy smoke, leaving her mind oddly clear.

  
Jemma never felt so foolish in her life.

She never felt so relieved either.

Fitz had called an old auntie sweetheart. She could accept that.

  
And maybe, she could accept the fact that she was, indeed, in love with her best friend and partner.

 

Ward watched Simmons as a blush made it's way on her face, the soft smile and nervous wrangling of her hands on her lap.

 

'Mission accomplished.' He thought.

 

Now it was all up to Skye with Fitz...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please, leave a comment.. .:)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I managed to finish this chapter. Sorry if it's short but I feel that if write more, adding details here and there, I might just lose focus on the story and lose whatever plot it (still) has. And I should be studying rather than writing... My guilty conscience is tormenting me..
> 
> Thank you for the enormous response on this story. You guys are awesome..^_^
> 
> So, I hope you like this chapter. Please leave a review.. :)
> 
> Thanks to my Beta StarryDreamer01 who helped me edit this.

* * *

_While every human being has a capacity for love, its realization is one of the most difficult achievements._

_-Erich Fromm-_

* * *

 

The kitchenette was small and compact. Everything was stored inside following an order that everyone on the Bus knew. After those months living together, every member of the team had acquired a small space in it that was only theirs. There was a tacit, silent pact to not take anything from those shelves, cupboard or fridge sections without having asked the owner.

All in all, no one ever stole anything from the other.

Fitz walked over to the cupboard, opening it and raiding the shelf that he shared with Simmons. He was starving..

"Please, tell me that you aren't going to eat chips and popcorn for dinner," Skye said, opening the fridge. "Seriously,  _I'll_  cook something for you instead.."

"Is that a threat?" He asked with an arched brow and promptly ducked as the hacker threw an apple at him. It hit his shoulder and rolled on the ground. "Hey, you shouldn't throw food!"

"Yeah?.And you shouldn't turn down a gentle offer!" Skye picked the apple with a frown. "You jerk.."

Fitz rolled his eyes at her, rubbing the spot where he had been hit and resumed to gather things for dinner.

He quickly pulled out some bread, cheese and a bag of popcorn (he could eat while making the sandwiches..). He made his way to the fridge, eyeing Skye who was still glaring at him. He quickly took out some lettuce, mayonnaise and fresh cream cheese. He then saw a plastic box with prosciutto, buffalo mozzarella and a small bowl of pesto aioli.

Grinning slightly, he took that out of the fridge too and put everything on the counter. Feeling a bit guilty, he turned to Skye.

"I'll make you a sandwich as an apology for my comment, all right?" He said, taking out some plates. "Just don't sulk around me."

"I'm not sulking!" She remarked, slapping her hand against his arm. He winced.

"Hey! That hurt! You're training to be a field agent: don't use me as your punching bag!"

Skye smirked and perched herself on a free corner of the counter. She watched as Fitz took a bowl, poured some popcorn in it and put a handful in his mouth.

"Seriously though.. You eat junk food  _all_  the time and yet you're in shape. How's that even possible?"

Fitz turned around, swallowing the last bit of popcorn.

"I don't eat junk food all-"

"Fitz, you have movie nights with Simmons whenever we aren't on a mission. I've seen you carry  _bowls_  of popcorn to your room," Skye huffed. "This is so unfair... I work my  _ass_  out with Ward and have to keep track of the nutritional values of anything I eat and all that crap. You know what? I'll ask Simmons. If she eats even half as much as you do, she must have some secret to keep that model body of hers."

Fitz nearly sliced his finger, rather than the cheese, as he heard that comment.

 

_Model body?_

 

His mind wandered dangerously to places where it shouldn't be going and he stopped hearing Skye's rambling. Images of his partner throughout the years of their friendship flashed through his mind. Snippets of her in various moments because in all these years of living together, he  _did_  get a glimpse of her.

He really shouldn't be thinking of her in that way.

Not here in the kitchen with Skye.

  
Maybe in the privacy of his bunk...?  _No_.

  
He had to stop.  _Now_.

  
He blew a breath through gritted teeth and fixed Skye's sandwich: cheese, a slice of prosciutto, lettuce and mayonnaise on two slices of white bread. He put it on a plate and handed it to her.

"Here," he said. The hacker took the plate with a beaming smile.

"Thanks, Fitz," she chirped and took a bite of the sandwich. Smiling slightly, he turned to make dinner for him and Jemma. Sometimes having Skye around was like having an hyper little sister..

"You know, for somehow who lives on popcorn, you make great sandwiches." All right, make it an  _annoying_  little sister.

"I do eat healthy stuff," he scoffed, cutting the mozzarella in thin slices. "Simmons' got me in a strict diet regimen."

"Has she now?" Had he been looking he would have seen (and feared) the grin on Skye's face.

"Of course. Who do you think bought all those fresh fruit and vegetables?"

"Dunno.. I'd have thought May or A.C. I can totally see them as super agents who can defeat aliens and won't eat carbs because they're not good, eat veggies because they're healthy and stuff like that.."

Leo snorted. He made a mental note to never have a meal with Agent May or Agent Coulson or he'll end up laughing. And then trembling for his life when they asked for the reason of his hilarity.

"She's always been strict on our eating habits. Movie nights' food are the only exception on the diet that she..well,  _we_  allow ourselves." He had come to understand and appreciate Jemma's obsession on eating healthily after all these years.

"So.." He heard approaching footsteps and the resident hacker was by his side, munching on her sandwich. "You're currently swallowing mouthfuls of popcorn behind her back so that she won't know and in the meantime, making fresh, healthy sandwiches for dinner to make her happy?"

Fitz glared at her.

" _No._ " He replied, barely hiding his annoyance as he saw the smirk on her face. "I'm taking the bowl out for her too. We haven't eaten a bloody thing since lunch: just being drinking tea. I doubt she'll be complaining about eating habits at the moment."

He went on preparing the sandwiches. He was bloody  _starving_.

"What's the green stuff you're putting in there?" Skye asked, as she put her plate away. She seemed to have enjoyed the sandwich.

"Pesto Aioli." He replied and looked at his side. The hacker had a blank expression. "Simmons' made it. It complements the taste of the buffalo mozzarella and prosciutto."

"That's one weird sandwich..."

"It's delicious." Fitz grinned, recalling how he had wolfed down his first one, back at the Academy, one day that Jemma had made lunch for both.

"Did Simmons invent it?" Fitz's expression was too eager..and adoring. It  _had_  to be made by Simmons.

"Yeah... she likes to experiment when cooking. She pretty much applies what she does in the lab: precision, measurements and chemistry. And it all comes out pretty good."

Skye snorted.

"Of course she would be a great cook," she remarked. "Simmons' like the poster girl for the perfect woman: smart, great cook, freaking neat and clean, great character, gentle and caring.. Seriously,  _any_  guy would just love her."

  
Leo froze at her words.

  
She was right. Any man with a bit of a brain would fall in love Jemma.

There had been many men ( _too many_ , for his tastes..) that had tried to woo her back at the Academy or at Sci-Ops: brilliant scientists and towering specialists had lingered by their lab or in the hallways, asking her out for a cup of coffee or dinner.

And she had accepted every now and then, blushing furiously, looking almost incredulous that she was receiving that kind of attention from someone.

He had always ignored the nagging feeling in his chest, defining it as protectiveness. Jemma was his best friend and housemate, once in Sci-Ops, so it was natural for him to be protective.

He now realized that he had been jealous the whole damn time.

None of those men had ever lingered too much. Jemma would date them for weeks or months and then they would just disappear and she wouldn't be gone for dinners or walks or dates where he knew that more than just words were exchanged.

And he wouldn't be alone in his room, brooding and ignoring the feelings in his heart.

He never asked her about them. Relationships had always been a rather secretive subject for both. He rarely spoke of the women he had dated: he just mentioned dates or places and sometimes gave a name but nothing more. She would do the same.

Maybe he had been so secretive because he was terrified to hear that she was liking one of these men. That she was falling in love.

 

Dear God... he had been in love with her  _the whole time_.

 

Skye let the words linger in the air before glancing at Fitz. His hands had stilled over a slice of bread.

She knew that she was messing with his head, talking about Simmons and her being perfect (because she was totally aware that the biochemist was indeed perfect) but she wanted him to man up and just realize the truth.

The guy was in love with his best friend who in turn was completely in love with him.

Really..for a couple of geniuses, they were  _so_  dense.

And now.. the final shove towards her goal...

"Well, Agent Sitwell seemed to be pretty taken by her." She mused. Fitz snapped out of his stupor.

"Hmm.. I heard," he muttered. Damn Agent Sitwell and his bloody head..

Skye failed to hide a grin at his tone but gratefully Fitz wasn't looking at her.

"He probably thought that Simmons was the all delicate and  _'I-can't-do-anything-bad'_  type of girl. Could be his type.." She faked to think about this and watched as Fitz sliced bread with a bit too much force. "Anyway, I doubt he'll even look at Simmons without reaching for his gun if he ever sees her again. Seriously,  _I_  freaked out when she shot him."

Leo smirked slightly as he finished making dinner. He was starting to appreciate the whole Night-Night gun episode now..

"To think that she didn't even want to help me at the beginning!" Skye exclaimed. "I like following the rules and doing what's expected of me: makes me feel nice!"

Fitz stared at her. Her mimicry of Jemma's voice was hideous.

"You  _really_  should stop doing that." He remarked. Skye ignored him and continued talking.

"And then I mention that you could be injured or tortured and she changes her mind and asks me what to do."

Leo stared at her.

 

Wait.. _what?_

 

"What?" He asked, wondering if he had heard her well. Skye looked at him.

"The moment I mentioned you being in danger, Simmons flipped from good to bad girl and helped me hack the HUB." Her dark eyes lingered on him. "She must really care for you, you know?"

Fitz looked at her, barely noticing the slightly knowing smile and stare. Her words just echoed throughout his head.

 

Jemma had done it for him.

  
For his safety.

  
She had risked a court-martial trial.

Risked to lose her career, her dreams..

 

For him.

 

His heart swelled. That had to mean something, right?

Maybe, she cared as much as he did.. Maybe, his feelings could be reciprocated..

Maybe she loved him too.

 

Skye saw how Fitz's eyes brightened suddenly and the soft smile that made it's way on his face.

She inwardly cheered. Her job was done and if Ward had done his, Simmons would be ready too.

 

Now the final act...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please, leave a comment... :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I finally managed to write the final chapter.
> 
> I'm so sorry if it took me ages but I have to admit, I really had trouble finding the right amount of inspiration to write this. As I've been saying from the first Author's note, this story was meant to be short (1-2 chapters) and silly. Somehow along the line, I expanded it and turned into a story with 6 chapters and a bit of a plot.
> 
> And -I'm still at loss for that- this is the story that's got the most response from readers. I've written 21 fics for the AoS fandom (for now...) and Jealous is the one that has gotten the most reviews/comments.
> 
> You guys are awesome, really... but you also freaked me out because I realised that I had to end this story well. I sort of owed you that much.
> 
> SO, after 4 months, I've decided to write the final chapter.
> 
> The show had a different vibe when I started this: there was more lightheartedness and not the angst and massive feels of the recent episodes. I hope I managed to keep that vibe...
> 
> I have nothing more to say but thanks you all for reading and liking this. I hope you like the finale as well... :)
> 
> Off we go...!
> 
> Thanks to my Beta StarryDreamer01 who helped me edit this.

* * *

_The heart already knows what the mind can only dream of. Trust your heart._

_-Jamal Hindi-_

* * *

 

 

Fitz and Skye came back from the kitchenette, one carrying a plate of sandwiches and the other a bowl of popcorn. Ward glanced at them while Jemma's eyes fell on her partner as though seeing him for the first time.

She couldn't ignore the way her heart started beating faster or the soft, tender and warm feelings washing over her.

How hadn't she realised that her feelings for him had always been so...strong? It wasn't just friendship or partnership. It was that instant connection, that immediate feeling when they first met at the Academy during a class that let her know that Fitz was different from the others and so very like her.

From the moment they met, Jemma knew that something had changed.

And as she took in his appearance now, sandy brown curls in their usual disarray, blue eyes bright and intense as always and soft, crooked smile directed at her, she just knew.

  
She loved Fitz.

  
And judging by the look he gave her, the hint of emotion that she could detect in his eyes and smile, he felt something for her as well. Jemma couldn't stop the smile from making its way onto her face.

Fitz and Skye put the plate and bowl on the small table between the armchairs and were both about to sit down when Ward stood up.

"Well, I'm calling it in for the night," he said, emptying the last of his glass.

Skye stared at him.

Jemma noticed that the hacker's face showed disbelief and annoyance all together. That expression made her wonder if this whole Team talking evening wasn't so casual after all...

Ward glanced at Skye, face unreadable.

"I'm tired and we've got training early tomorrow morning, Rookie," he added at Skye's silent question. "FitzSimmons still have to eat so I think I wouldn't be too rude to leave."

"Yes but-" Skye tried to retort but Ward's look didn't change. He looked as stoic and unreadable as ever. "Oh,  _alright_..."

Skye looked every little a bit a child denied a present as she turned to them but then she rearranged her features so quickly that Jemma wondered if she had imagined her expression.

"See you tomorrow, FitzSimmons," she said with a wave and walked to her bunk, following Ward.

Jemma stared at the hacker's retreating figure before turning to Fitz. He looked puzzled just as she was.

"Do you have the feeling-" he started, looking at her.

"-that we've been set up?" She finished, arching a brow. "Yes."

They stared at each other for moment and Jemma noticed how Fitz's eyes lingered on her face before blushing slightly and looking away.

She felt warmth flood her face as well.

  
She knew her feelings. She was sure that  _he_  knew them as well.

They just had to...talk. Now  _that_  was complicated...

  
"So..." she said, clearing her voice slightly. "What were we planning to do before...?" She waved her hand vaguely at the stools where Skye and Ward had been.

"I was thinking about watching a film while we ate," Fitz remarked, scratching the back of his neck. "Though it's quite late now..." He looked at her. "You're still up for it? Otherwise, we can just eat here..."

"No, a film's fine for me," Jemma remarked, not wanting to leave his side now that her feelings -their feelings probably- were finally clear. She didn't want to fall into another hazy cloud of unsaid things between them. "Your bunk?" she asked, picking up the plate of sandwiches and her beer.

He looked at her for a moment and smiled. Her heart fluttered and she smiled back.

"Yeah..." he said, taking the bowl of popcorn and his beer.  
  


-:-  
  


Fitz didn't think that his heart could thump so loudly in his chest. He wondered how Jemma hadn't noticed it. He was glad that she wanted to be together despite the time: he wasn't quite sure if he wanted her to leave now that he had figured out his feelings. And yet, he was terrified as well.

They walked into his bunk and while Jemma arranged their dinner on his chair and bedside table, he pulled out his laptop and plugged it into the TV-screen.

"Any preference?" He asked, getting to folder where he has all the films in alphabetic order. Jemma always teased him for being a bit of a order-freak but he knew that she was just as maniacal as he was.

He turned his head after a few moments when he didn't get an answer.

"Jemma?"

She had been looking at some of the blueprints he had on his table, small designs that he drew when sudden inspiration got to him. They were all devices that he could built but that needed her expertise to be finished.

She turned to him, caramel hair tumbling down her shoulders and amber eyes warm and soft looking. He was mesmerized for a moment but it was her smile that sent his heart thundering in his chest.  
  


Good God...She was beautiful. How had he been so oblivious until now?

  
"Hmm?" she hummed, getting closer. A waft of lavender enveloped him.

Fitz almost forgot what he wanted to ask... Thankfully his brain was quick to react and function again.

"The film," he said, moving aside and pointing to his laptop. "Do you want to watch something in particular?"

"You're making me choose?" She asked, a teasing hint in her voice. "Aren't you afraid that I'll select something romantic or sappy or  _horrifyingly_  bloody?"

He rolled his eyes, failing to hide a grin.

"I suppose that I'll just have to trust you not to do that," he replied with a shrug. Jemma smiled again before rifling through the list of films.

"Alright, this one," she announced and clicked play before walking back to his bed. Fitz eyed her curiously and followed her.

He immediately recognized the starting scene.

"Stardust?" he asked, turning to her as he helped himself to a sandwich. He suddenly realised that he was starving: the mouthful of popcorn he had eaten in the kitchenette had just made him more ravenous.

"Not too sappy, too gory or too slow," Jemma remarked, picking up a sandwich and handing him a napkin.

"Thanks," He fumbled with his mouth full and took a sip of beer to avoid choking.

"Easy, Fitz," she chided with a small chuckle.

They watched the film in silence, every now and then laughing at a scene while they finished their quick dinner.

Fitz found himself staring at Jemma rather than the screen more than once. Her smile, her laugh, the brightness of her eyes...every single one of her features made his heart clench and lips quirk upwards in a smile.

  
God, he loved her...

  
How could he have not noticed or realised this before?

  
As the film went on -the hilarious scene of the fight on the pirate ship had them both laugh loudly before shushing each other simultaneously since it was late and their teammates were probably asleep- Fitz stole other glances to his partner.

Until he looked and found Jemma staring at him. A blush, red and hot, attacked his face.

"Er-I..-er," he stammered. "Sorry."

Jemma blushed slightly but rather than looking away or saying something, she moved closer and slowly curled an arm through his arm and carefully dropped her head onto his shoulder.

Fitz stared at her, swallowing dryly, not knowing what to say or do.

It wasn't uncommon for them to get closer or even snuggle during movie nights. The Bus could be atrociously chilly at times and Jemma, who was always cold, would stay closer to him to steal some body warmth.

But this was the first time that she cuddled to him like that, willingly -not sleepily- snuggled to his body.

Fitz looked at her and noticed the pinkish tint of her cheeks and felt his heartbeat increase.

  
Could she be trying to take that step forward?

  
He knew his feelings. And he knew that  _she_  knew them.

  
They had been wandering in this grey area of their relationship for a long time now. Today, he felt as though they were stepping on the boundary lines of that unknown place: it was time to either step forward or go back to what they were.

Fitz realised that they were both terrified to take that step because it might lead to the end of their being together:friendship, partnership...everything.

He stared at Jemma, noticing how the blush started to fade and how her fingers, resting on his biceps, clenched in nervousness. She almost seemed close to pull away from him.

She had always been the bold one, the one to take decisions rashly at first. Decisions that turned to be good afterwards.

She always made decisions for the both of them...

 

This time, he would be brave too.

  
-:-

  
Jemma felt Fitz tense under her touch and a wave of doubt rushed through her body.

He had been staring at her, stealing glances continuously and she had thought...

  
She had thought that taking the first step might have helped them.

  
Perhaps she had been too hasty. Or maybe she had just misread everything, her feelings for him suddenly clouding her judgement and mistaking his friendship for something more.

Maybe she had just done what she had feared for ages and cracked their balance.

  
Fitz moved slightly and his right hand gently pried her hand off his biceps. A piece of Jemma's heart cracked and shattered when he moved away, her head on his shoulder the only point of contact now.

_  
She had been too brash..._

_  
He didn't_ \- A hot lump lodged in her throat pushing up and causing her eyes to prickle. She had to leave.

  
She had to leave  _now_. Before she did something stupid like cry in front of him...

Jemma was ready to move away completely and dart out of the door when Fitz moved his left arm from her side to her waist and then her back.

She felt him shift closer, sides now meshed together and allowing her head to rest more comfortably on his shoulder. Her heart stuttered in her chest when she felt his fingers skim up her spine, hand splaying open and warm on the small of her back..

She dared to move and look at him, not realising that they were close, closer than they'd ever been in their lives; her nose brushed against the crook of his neck and she tried to ignore the ripples of heat going through her body. Her heartbeat echoed in her ears when she found herself staring into Fitz's eyes.

He was blushing, the tip of his ears a flaring red but he was looking at her. His blue eyes were warm and she noticed a mingle of emotions behind them: nervousness, hesitancy and...hopefulness?

"Is this ok?" He whispered.  
  
Something inside Jemma melted as he smiled softly. She didn't trust her voice, the lump in her throat still there, though the emotion had changed. She nodded and his smile widened before turning to the TV-screen again.

Jemma went back to put her head between the crook of his neck and his shoulder. Her eyes were fixed on the film but she wasn't listening or paying attention any more. Her mind was focused on the light brushing of his fingers up and down her spine and the faint scent of his cologne mingled with the ever lingering hint of solder he had on him from the lab that filled her senses.

A couple of hours ago she had been afraid to even look at him for more than a few seconds without averting her gaze and now...

  
And now they were stepping over all the boundaries they had erected around themselves.

  
A smile made its way on her face.

They stayed in silence as the film went on. The final scene was coming up when she felt Fitz shift slightly, his right hand on his thigh, fingers drumming slowly.

She looked up again.

"Hey..." she whispered and he looked at her and she arched a brow in query. He smiled slightly.

"I...I was just thinking," he said. "Skye mentioned something before..."

"Skye said many things before," she replied, blushing slightly. "I'd rather you forget most of them actually..."

Fitz snorted.

"Not really..." he drawled. She felt him draw closer to her. "Eight years that I've known you and I  _never_ heard about your interest in men about your height and with beautiful heads..."

He was teasing her: his voice was slightly lower than usual and his breath was warm against her cheeks. The blush that invaded her face wasn't just for his words...

She wondered if he knew what he doing to her, the way he made her react. She had seen him with other women in the past -their years at Sci-Ops had given him more than one occasion to notice girls and be noticed- but he had always seemed a bit nervous, babbling or stammering even.

The thought that there was a more confident Fitz when it came to interactions outside the lab was a total novelty for her.

  
It intrigued her...

  
It made her want to know more...

  
"You never asked," she whispered, tilting her head so that her lips were almost brushing his ear. He shuddered slightly and she was enormously pleased by his reaction.

She was used to teasing him playfully. But this...

  
These small bursts of warmth between them was so much more...

  
And she liked it.

  
-:-

  
They were  _flirting_.

  
He was flirting with _Jemma_.

  
Jemma Simmons was responding and flirting with him.

  
He would have  _never_  seen that coming...  _Ever_. Only some very wishful dream and fantasy would have made him even think about that possibility…

He swallowed dryly again and wondered if he should play along and say something else. Something that would make her blush like she did before… Fitz wanted to say more, lots more but words were always difficult for him.

He was over thinking this, he knew that. And Jemma must have noticed too because he felt her bump her nose against his cheek, catching his attention again.

"So what did Skye say that got you thinking so much?" Her breath washed over the side of his face and he had to ignore the shiver that ran down his spine.

His treacherous mind went to Skye talking about Jemma being perfect, her body and... and he had to stop that train of thought while she was pressed against him.

Immediately.

"Er-" he cleared his throat and tried to refocus. He had been wanting to tell her something important. "Skye told me about what you did at the HUB."

Jemma lifted her head and looked at him with a puzzled look.

"You already knew what I did at the HUB," she remarked, eyebrows and nose scrunching a little bit. "I told you multiple times...since you wouldn't believe that  _I'd_  shoot a superior officer."

He chuckled as she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah...I know. And I believe you now, no? Skye just told me... She told me how you decided to help her with her shenanigans only when you realised that I could be in danger."

He wanted to show his gratitude, his relief that she was fine and express the bubble of emotions that swelled in his chest whenever he was with her.

The emotion that lingered in his heart even in Ossetia and that kept him focused.

Jemma's eyes widened slightly and he saw the flush spreading through her cheeks.

He smiled slightly and reached for the hand resting on her thigh as his other hand pressed a little more on her back. He ignored the pounding of his heart as he moved forward so that their foreheads touched while he entwined their fingers together.

He felt his own face burn as he bored into her eyes, hazel orbs suddenly so close and so enticing from such a close distance. They had never been so intimately close.

"Thank you," he whispered, squeezing her fingers and allowing those two words to carry more feelings than just gratitude.

Jemma stared at him for a moment before a flash of resolution crossed her eyes. She shifted slightly, manoeuvring her body to be angled towards him without them breaking contact and reached for his face with her other hand.

He felt little tingles run down his spine as her nimble fingers traced lines down his jaw and cheeks.

"I... I couldn't let something happen to you," she said softly. "I couldn't let you being hurt without doing something."

"I know," he whispered, his mind going back to the Chitauri incident. "I'd have done the same."

"You did," Her thumb brushed the corner of his mouth. "You risked an alien virus infection for me."

"And you shot a superior officer, risking court-martial and a life ban from any lab facility." He moved the hand on her back, tracing the outline of her spine. "We're even, no?"

She smiled slightly and nodded slowly.

Fitz would have been more than happy to stay like this, didn't dare to ask for more when he already felt his heart brimming with emotions and love for the woman in front of him.

  
But Jemma had always been the braver one...

  
She softly cupped his cheek as she moved forward to nudge her nose against his jaw. He was suddenly overwhelmed by her scent and warmth.

"I couldn't bear the thought of losing you," she whispered, her lips ghosting his cheek. "Leo..."

His heart fluttered at the soft confession and the usage of his first name. She had called him like that a handful of times during the years they knew each other.

"Same goes for me," he answered, moving slightly so that they were looking at each other again. "You..." He took a calming breath as he felt his heartbeat in his ears. "You know how I feel...about you, Jemma."

He desperately hoped that this was enough as a confession because the words to tell her exactly how he felt were lost to him now.

Having her so close was melting his mind and heart...

  
-:-

  
A wave of pure happiness washed through her body and she had to restrain herself from giggling or laughing like the completely in love woman she was now. Jemma allowed herself to smile, almost a beam, to light her face as she looked at Fitz.

She almost did laugh at the desperately hopeful look on his face. The silly man... Did he really doubt her feelings? After all of this...?

"I know, Leo," she replied, bumping her nose against his as she moved both her hands to cup his face. "And... you know how I feel about you."

The smile that lit his face made her fall in love all over again.

They stayed still looking at each other for a few moments and then Jemma noticed how Fitz's eyes drifted down to her lips more than once.

She smiled as she moved forward and he copied her action: FitzSimmons always being FitzSimmons.

  
It was a soft touch of lips, a gentle exchange of pressure and mingled breaths. Jemma couldn't help but melt as she caught the look on Fitz's face when they parted. He had always looked at her warmly but the undiluted love she saw in his eyes made her feelings jumble in her heart.

She was torn between laughing and crying in happiness.

  
Thankfully, Fitz took the matter in his hands. Literally.

  
He shifted the hand on her back higher, moving her forward helped by his other hand on her waist. When she felt his body pressed against hers, all thoughts just fled her mind except one.

  
Fitz. It would always be only Leo.

  
She moved her hands away from his face as she moved to kiss him again. She wrapped an arm around his neck to steady herself while her free hand went up into his hair, threading through his curls.

She felt his hands, large and warm, rest tightly on her waist and on her nape, pulling her even closer.

It took Jemma's full willpower to not moan loudly and just let out a soft keening sound from her throat when he nipped her lip with his teeth and deepened the kiss.

"Jemma..." he breathed into her mouth when the parted for a second for air. The gravelly sound of his brogue sent tingles down her spine and belly.

And it gave her the right amount of boldness to crash their lips together and slide her tongue through his teeth, allowing her to map his mouth.

The deep groan that erupted from him and that was muffled by her lips, made her grin in pride.

  
-:-

  
Fitz lost track of time and of everything that wasn't Jemma.

At some point, the air in his bunk turned warm, scorching almost. And before he knew what happened, he had lost his tie and his jumper was tossed somewhere between his bedside table and chair.

He realised that he was taking off Jemma's cardigan while she loosened the first buttons of his shirt. He dropped the garment on the floor and barely had time to take in the image of Jemma with a flushed face and wide collared blouse that her hands were on in his hair and lips on his neck.

Coherent thought was completely foreign to him at this point.

At some point, he wrapped his arms around Jemma and twisted around so that they both tumbled on the bed. The small squeak of surprise that escaped her lips made him laugh and gave him a moment of advantage to kiss and nip the pulse on her neck.

" _Leo_..." Jemma gasped beneath him and he smiled against her skin. The kiss that she gave him seconds later made his mind go blank.

 

They weren't completely lost in each other: they still had that little bit of control that allowed them to stop at some point.

Fitz had an arm around Jemma's waist and the other one on the pillow, over his head as he laid next to her on his bed. Jemma's head was on his chest, one hand resting softly on his shirt right over his heart, the other wrapped around his waist. Their legs were tangled together.

They both looked pretty dishevelled: hair a royal mess and his shirt and her blouse really needed to be ironed out now.

But neither cared much about it...

The film had long ended without either of them noticing it. The media player was set on some default setting and automatically played a folder that had all the Dr. Who episodes.

Hopefully, no one on the Bus might have heard them snogging...

"Ward told me something before," Jemma said after a moment of silence.

"He did?" Fitz asked, feeling oddly at ease. At this point, he didn't care if his teammate had ratted him out about talking about Jemma the whole time...

"Yeah, he told me about disposing about a certain sandwich that  _you_  told me you had eaten and that was delicious."

 

Unless he told Jemma about...  _that_.

He would kill Ward. He would use him as a dummy for the Night-Night gun. He already imagined doing that while the specialist was punching his sack outside the lab.

 

"Er-yeah... About that, I- well-" Fitz miserably failed to keep his calm. "I'm sor-"

Jemma laughed softly and heaved herself up, half of her weight on him, as she kissed him again and swallowed his apology.

"I was teasing you, Leo..." she said against his lips.

"Bloody Ward," he grumbled under his breath. "Of all the things he could have told you... And why was he even talking? Where did the whole silent-broody-I don't care a damn-specialist go?"

"Oh, he told me plenty of things..." She bumped her nose against his jaw before swatting his arm with her hand.

"Ow," Fitz yelped at the sudden action. "Jemma, what the-?"

" _That's_  for telling him about the Faraday cup, you prat."

 

Yes, Ward had to seriously look behind his back... He was going to test _all_ of his prototypes on him.

 

"Oh, that...yes," Fitz stalled for time for a minute and then moved forward, capturing her lips with his. Jemma gasped and mewled softly going lax against him.

"That won't help you distract me every time," she said when they broke apart.

"You can't blame me for trying," he replied cheekily and she half heartedly hit his arm again, failing to hide a blush.

"You do realise that we have to go to sleep since its-" Jemma craned her neck to look down at his watch. "Oh Lord, it's almost 2 am."

"You could sleep here," he suggested and then blushed. "I mean-No, I didn't mean to say that- Just sleep. Nothing else."

"Leo..." She chided him and brushed a kiss against his lips again. "I know... Don't fret."

He smiled at her. How could he forget that she could read him like a book? There was a reason if they were FitzSimmons.

"So, you're staying?" He asked, trying not to sound too hopeful. He really liked staying in bed like this with her.

"As long as you set the alarm clock early," she said, settling down on his pillow, looking at him. "I'll have to slip in my room before the others wake up."

"We could say that we fell asleep during the film."

"Yeah...right. Try explaining that to Skye if she finds me coming out of your bunk looking like... _this_ ," she gestured to her dishevelled state. "I'd never hear the end of it."

" _We'd_  never hear the end of it," he corrected her. "I still think that we've been set up tonight: she and Ward were working together."

"Definitely."

Fitz smiled slightly and brushed his lips against hers.

"I'm not complaining though..." he admitted, running his fingers through her hair.

  
-:-

  
Jemma smiled softly closing her eyes as she savoured his touch.

"Neither am I..." she confessed and kissed him again.

Fitz got up and quickly turned off the laptop and screen and then set his alarm clock. She took in his appearance: curls in messy disarray and shirt open to the fourth button(she got a bit carried away while kissing him, she realised with a blush).

To think that the evening had started with her jealous over the Russian woman Martha...and now she in Fitz's bed after having kissed him most of the night.

"What was I even jealous of..." she mumbled against the pillow, closing her eyes as she stretched slightly.

"Jealous of whom?"

Jemma's eyes popped open as Fitz's confused face appeared in front of her. She hadn't heard him approach her.

  
And he had clearly heard her...

  
A fiery blush attacked her face.

"No one," she lied but of course Fitz knew it.

"No, you're not going to escape that, Jemma," he remarked as he turned off the lamp light and crawled into bed.

Jemma could see him through the dim safety light above them: he was grinning.

"Fitz..." she warned.

"Jemma..." he mimicked her tone and wrapped his arms around her, trapping her from moving away.

 

Damn it... Why didn't she keep her mouth shut?

 

"So, who were you jealous of?" he asked again.

"You'll tease me," she protested but he shook his head.

"I won't." His face told her otherwise.

"You're a wretched liar, Fitz."

"Come on..." He shot a look that was almost puppyish. God, she couldn't resist  _that_...

"Oh, alright! I never heard about that Martha woman so when Ward talked about her and the pet name she gave, I just-"

She didn't finish her sentence because Fitz started to tremble and his restrained laughter was muffled against the pillow. Jemma flushed deeper.

"I knew that you would laugh," she whined softly and slapped his arm again. Fitz was too busy laughing to notice. Jemma ducked her head against the crook of his neck, his breath tickling her neck.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he wheezed out after a minute. "Oh God, it's just that Martha looked like...my old Great aunt Mary and..." He snorted again. "Was that why you looked tense at some point in the lounge room?"

 

 _Of course_ , he would notice that..

 

Jemma let out a rather undignified grunt as an answer as she tried to bury her face in his neck. She felt Fitz laugh a little more.

 

He would never let her hear the end of it...

 

Suddenly, she was hit with the image of Fitz's hardened, almost angry face in the lounge room. Recalling the conversation, she smiled and drew back.

Fitz looked surprised for a moment and then alarmed.

"What?" he asked. "Come on, I was just teasing..."

"You looked rather tense in the lounge room, too," she remarked and felt a smirk make its way on her face when his eyes widened almost comically. "Care to explain why?"

"No, I wasn't tense."

"Fitz..."

"No... Jemma, you're wro-"

She wrapped her arms around his neck and moved closer. She grinned as she saw him blush.

"Leo..." Her lips were brushing against his cheeks and nose. She heard him swallow dryly.

"I-"

"I do remember that we were talking about Agent Sitwell. Jealous much?"

Fitz shook his head, trying to deny whatever she was implying but Jemma was faster. She melded her lips to his and worked his mouth, nibbling on his lower lip

A few moments later, breathless and thoroughly red in his face, Fitz nodded.

Jemma grinned.

"I think that I'll use this method to get you do something when I want to, Leo," she said cheekily.

Fitz groaned softly and she laughed before kissing him again.

 

Being jealous wasn't that bad after all...

  
-:-

  
Skye literally ran down the spiral staircase the next morning, ten minutes before her morning training session.

  
No, she wasn't eager to train with Ward. Hell, her S.O had made her promise to do a double training session today since he helped her with her little plan of getting FitzSimmons together.

  
She didn't want to imagine how she would feel later...

  
No, she ran because she wanted to see the Bus' resident scientists and see if the plan worked.

She stopped in front of the lab doors and saw FitzSimmons at work, as usual. Simmons on her side, Fitz on his and every now and then they would speak or move towards each other.

 

No change of routine.

 

Skye couldn't believe it.

The plan was perfect: they were both just.. _there_ , a step away from just declaring their love to each other. She had literally pushed them towards each other.

  
And this was the result?

 

Nothing?

 

She didn't really expect something grand or blatant... Not that she expected FitzSimmons to be making out in the lab or anything.

 

But maybe a little something... A smile towards each other, hand in hand, a little smooch?

 

No.

  
All she got was the usual FitzSimmons, talking FitzSimmonsy and being geniuses.

 

Not even a banner saying ' _Thank you, Skye, for letting us see what was obvious to the world_.'?

 

Nope.

  
Skye was very disgruntled when she was punching the sack, Ward barking orders.

  
It  _had_  to be Ward's fault.

  
Fitz was stewing in his love for Simmons when she left them together. So Ward mustn't have done his job.

Simmons wasn't probably in the right place and missed Fitz...

The hacker shot a nasty look at her S.O and mulled over dumb, in love-genius scientists.

She'll have to set them up one her own.

  
-:-

  
Two weeks later, Skye found out the truth, having caught Simmons getting out of Fitz's bunk wearing her shoes, her jeans and  _his_  shirt.

It was almost 1 am and she had been in the lounge room going through her favorite websites from her laptop and not in her bunk.

 

The squealing woke the whole Bus. The leader and two specialists were not amused.

 

And the scientists never heard the end of it.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you survived the fluff and sapfest, please leave a comment... :)


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